At Long Last It's Summertime

So at long last we can say that it's now officially British Summertime. And what a long

wait it was this Winter, with a January that I'm never likely to forget.

I guess that the period from October to the end of the year is okay, what with the Autumn

season and the long build up to Christmas. But it's the two months of January and February

that I dislike so much.

So hopefully very soon things will warm up and then we can say Summer really is here.

Summertime Begins

So the Winter moves on and we officially enter British Summertime. And we do wonder

what Summer will bring us after last year's record breaking heatwaves.

I was thrilled to recently secure two bookings that will see a return to Cornwall after what must

be a gap of 5 years, having last visited there in 2018. We then skipped a visit in 2019 which was then

followed by the arrival of Covid.

I'm still trying to talk my partner into some foreign travel but they seem to be more comfortable

being domestically grounded. Perhaps these things happen as people age. It's a miracle that I talked

them into three trips to America, just before I started blogging.

Prices for Self Catering Holidays in Cornwall are now becoming obscene. And in the high

season (July/Aug) you can expect to pay from £800 to £1,000 for just one week.

It's no wonder that so many Brits head for Spain each Summer.

Above: The Isles of Scilly in Cornwall

The Calm After the Storm & The Summer Heath Ponds

Well that was a pretty uncomfortable start to our week with Monday and Tuesday's

Summer temperatures hitting an all time record breaking 40.3c. Even our parts here

in North West London reached 39c over the two days. And it really was a case of sitting

it out indoors and waiting for Wednesday when things finally calmed down.

What is odd though is how as a country we never seem prepared for such extreme conditions.

Our Railway system just couldn't cope and many travel plans were ruined due to train

cancellations.

And pity those workers that had to endure their journeys to work on the hot Underground on

those two days, unless of course you were travelling on the new cool Elizabeth Line which I'm

hoping to take a trip on soon for an up and coming blog post. 

But worst of all was the many fires around the country causing 41 homes to be destroyed

leaving some people with literally nothing, no home, no clothes, no money and all personal

items of sentimental value, completely gone. How do people cope with something like that?

Apparently our London firefighters had their busiest day since the Second World War.

The worst place to be hit was the Essex Village of Wennington where a row of adjoining houses

were literally burnt and gutted. And some locals have claimed that a large steaming compost

heap of dry grass may have self ignited causing the fires with the help of the hot winds which 

spread the flames.

At one point some of the villagers took refuge in the local St Mary and St Peter's Church which

miraculously escaped any damage although the surrounding graveyard is now charred black (below).

Some parts of the Church itself are believed to be almost a thousand years old.

And if you were watching Live Sky News coverage on Tuesday, it did look like

the flames were getting ever closer and closer to the Church.

Above: The view from space one year apart showing the now current dry grasslands of

South East England compared to a healthier looking picture from last Summer.

Via Meteorologist Dan Holley's twitter page

SUNDAY ON THE HEATH

On a very warm Sunday just before this week's big heat arrived I thought I would

take a walk over to the Ponds on the Heath before a two day heat lockdown. Although

the high temperatures didn't seem to put off many who still headed off to the Parks and beaches on

our hottest days ever recorded.

Saturday 17th June.... Hyde Park

Below are a few pictures taken last Saturday while we were
at Marble Arch and the Hyde Park Boat Lake.
It was here that we had a walk about while waiting for
those brave naked cyclists to return to Hyde Park Corner.